Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS Position Increased by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 12.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 19,504 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,208 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $4,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth about $1,664,000. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $223,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 70.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 186.2% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 33,614 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,526,000 after purchasing an additional 21,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,274 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,345,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $281.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $272.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.08.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS opened at $297.87 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $275.58 and its 200-day moving average is $261.12. The stock has a market cap of $19.14 billion, a PE ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $238.46 and a twelve month high of $299.29.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($2.31). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 30.03%.The business had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $2.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.40%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,394 shares in the company, valued at $669,003.30. The trade was a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.47% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc (NYSE: ESS) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on market-rate apartment communities and delivers a full suite of property services including leasing, resident services, asset management, and capital improvement programs designed to preserve and enhance long‑term property values.

Essex concentrates its portfolio in West Coast markets, with a significant presence in California and the Pacific Northwest.